Brown Rice Salad with Tomato and Kale

I came up with this recipe in an effort to find something new for the lunchboxes.  If you have children who are gluten and/or and diary free it's easy to run out of ideas or resort to foods that are not very nutritious.  My girls and I love this salad and it's super healthy too.  The best thing is that you can make it ahead and it's fine in the fridge for a few days, probably longer but ours never lasts that long.  The flavour actually improves when it sits for awhile.

What you will need:

• 1 cup of brown rice, soaked for a minimum of seven hours, drained and patted dry.
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp baby capers, drained
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced or finely chopped
• Kale, roughly chopped - about four good handfuls

What you need to do:

1.  Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to the boil and then add the rice.  Reduce to a very low simmer, cover and allow to cook for 45 to 50 minutes.  When done, all the water will be absorbed and rice should be tender.  Leave to sit in the pot.

2.  In a small pan, heat some olive oil over a low heat and gently cook the garlic.  Add the kale and fry gently.  Add a dash of water, cover and allow to steam until tender.

3.  Mix the rice with a fork and add the chopped sundried tomatoes, capers and the cooked kale and all the oil from the pan.  Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and mix well.

4.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and add more oil or balsamic to taste if needed. 

Notes:

There are infinite variations for this recipe.  For a higher protein meal, add toasted seeds or nuts.  You could change the dressing to anything that you like, lemon juice and olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil with chopped coriander.  Chopped herbs could be added such as parsley or mint.  Any combination of raw or cooked vegetables can be added for variety.  You could also use quinoa instead of brown rice, or use a combination of both.

I actually made the same recipe as above but added it to freshly cooked gluten free spaghetti for a delicious pasta dinner.

Vegan Baked Sunday Lunch

This is my take on a vegan baked Sunday lunch.  I was feeling a bit hungry and discovered I had some beetroots and spinach in the fridge to be used.  I came up with this little trio and they were all delicious.  Even my meat-loving husband enjoyed it and agreed that it certainly didn't feel like anything was missing from the plate.

Roasted Beetroot with Cannellini Beans

Peel the beetroots and cut into cubes.  Place in a baking tray with olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake until the beetroots are tender (about 45 - 50 minutes).  Drain the cannellini beans and add to the baking tray along with a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Mix well and return to the oven until the beans are heated through.

Roasted Potato Cubes

Cut your potatoes into cubes, leave the skin on as it's the tastiest part.  Put into a baking tray with olive oil and salt and pepper.  You could also add herbs like rosemary or thyme.  Mix well and bake until browned and slightly crispy.  Usually 30 - 40 minutes.

Spinach with Tomato and Lemon Juice

In a fry pan or wok heat some olive oil and then add a clove of garlic.  Stir briefly and then add one or two chopped ripe tomatoes.  When they begin to soften add the spinach (which you've washed, drained and roughly chopped).  Fry until wilted and the stems have also softened.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and then serve immediately.

Gluten Free Pasta

Pasta is a quick and delicious meal option but if you are gluten free then obviously regular wheat pasta is off limits.  There are now many different brands of gluten free pasta available and supermarkets usually carry several options.  I've found it can be a bit hit or miss with not all of them performing like regular pasta at all.

Gluten free pastas are often made from rice or corn, or a combination of both.  I find that the pastas that are only rice and/or corn can be acceptable but generally don't live up to expectations.  Orgran pastas are one example of this although their vegetable rice spirals are one of my girls' favourites.  The Deli free brand is made in Italy (always a good sign) and is a little better.  San Remo have a wide range including spaghetti, fettuccini, penne, lasagne sheets and cannelloni.  Their pasta also includes potato starch and soya flour and it holds up fairly well although I don't love the flavour.  The lasagne sheets work very well though.

My favourite is the Schar brand, also made in Italy and the only pasta that I feel really performs the way wheat pasta does.  It actually swells.  Many of the other gluten free pastas don't swell as much and so you need to use more than if you were using wheat pasta.  The Schar pasta includes pea protein isolate in the ingredients which makes the end product higher in protein.

Generally it comes down to a bit of trial and error and is really up to personal preference.  However, I eat more pasta now than I ever did before I was gluten free and it can definitely be substituted for wheat pasta in recipes without much trouble.  The up side of gluten free pasta is that you don't have that heavy, overly full feeling you do when eating a bowl of wheat pasta.  The down side....it's usually very expensive!

Vegetarian Lasagne

Recipes Using Gluten Free Pasta:

Cart-Driver Spaghetti
Lemony Pasta with Vegetables
Penne with Tomato and Basil
Spaghetti with Broccoli and Anchovies
Super Fast Pasta Dinner
Vegetarian Minestrone Style Soup

Dairy Free Chicken Korma

I came up with this recipe for a Chicken Korma using almond meal instead of cream or yoghurt to give that creaminess that is associated with Korma curries.  The result was very tasty and the kids loved it. 

What you will need:

• 2 tbsp rice bran oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic
• 1 - 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 3 tinned tomatoes chopped, without the juice (alternatively use 3 ripe fresh tomatoes)
• 500 grams of chicken thighs, chopped into 3 or 4cm pieces
• 250ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp garam masala

What you need to do:

1.  Heat a frypan and add oil and ghee, then add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves and fry for a couple of minutes.

2.  Add the onion and fry over low heat until soft.

3.  Add ginger, garlic and stir for 30 seconds and then add the ground coriander and cumin.  Cook another minute.

4.  Add the chopped tomatoes and cook a further minute.

5.  Add the chicken, mix through.  Then add the water, salt, almonds and garam masala.  Cover and simmer gently for about half an hour.

Serve with basmati rice, or for a healthier option try my Rice with Quinoa and Turmeric and a side of green vegies, and/or Peas with Garlic and Cumin.